Dr Sharon McIver founded social enterprise ‘Our Daily Waste’ and in this conversation we talk about her entrepreneurial journey. Before getting to that though we discuss her childhood as well as work as a music journalist that meant she reviewed hundreds of albums and interviewed many musicians such as Radiohead and Ben Harper. We also talk about her doctoral thesis on outdoor dance culture which also looked at the influence of the New Zealand landscape on Kiwi music. This is one of those conversations where we end up talking about many, many topics so you are sure to enjoy it!
Website: https://ourdailywaste.co.nz/
From the site: “Our Daily Waste is owned and operated by Dr. Sharon McIver, who utilises her experience as a consultant, lecturer, event organiser, writer, and public speaker to provide practical support to people wanting to engage in greater waste reduction.
At events, she is supported by a team of hard working staff who, haul, sort and pick up trash to ensure that the events are kept clean and tidy and the recycling gets recycled. Whether her gloves are on or off, she is committed to her mission to Clean Up Aotearoa (see Facebook posts).
Sharon first started thinking about rubbish during her doctoral research on Aotearoa outdoor dance culture (University of Canterbury, Cultural Studies) when she began picking up litter during and after the events, and in doing so discovered a seam of research not often discussed in rave culture analysis.
After graduating in 2008, Sharon began working for the Sustainability Office at the University of Canterbury where she undertook an audit of 500+ bags of the university’s waste in 2010, and prepared a report that would form the basis for an upgrade of the recycling system that she implemented throughout 2011-2.
In 2012, Sharon left the UC to set up Our Daily Waste, which utilises her vast working experience in a range of industries including: tertiary education, media, retail, child care, hospitality, aged people’s care, banking and cleaning.
To book Sharon for a talk, workshop or conference please email Sharon McIver sharon@ourdailywaste.co.nz “
